LEADERSHIP LESSONS FROM LORD SHIVA|

Lord Shiva is also known as Maheshwara(The ultimate God) as he is the symbol of both Destruction and Creation. A leader can imbibe valuable lessons from Lord Shiva as He is the leader of His team and has to deal with many challenging situations.

The book ‘Shiva Trilogy’ which is the set of three books: The Immortals of Meluha, The Secret of the Nagas, and The Oath of the Vayuputras have many such golden lessons of leadership. In these mythological fictions, the protagonist who was initially portrayed as a young tribal leader in due course of time emerges as the greatest leader of the time by his sheer virtues of being a great team player, vision, empathy, honesty, decision-making skills, thinking for every single person’s benefit and welfare of society.

Here are a few lessons that a leader can learn from Lord Shiva and Shiva Trilogy, apart from always chanting ‘Om Nama Shivai, Nama Shivai for wellbeing and wisdom. Let’s garner some beautiful leadership lessons from Lord Shiva and His ambiance.

6 Critical lessons from Lord Shiva that can support us to be a better leader are:

1. Living in Austerity – Various historical and mythical researches prove that Lord Shiva lived in the dark cold mountains, thereby depriving himself of the materialistic world. Emulating this value from Lord Shiva can help every leader or entrepreneur to rise above the attachment for the position -laurels -perks of the role. Very often as a leader one needs to rise above the needs and incentives to take fair decisions; this attribute keeps every leader grounded at all times…irrespective of the highs and lows in life.
2. Fearless Decision Maker -Lord Shiva often considered to be the God of Gods also has a very fearsome form which is known as ‘The Rudra’. Every leader needs to have this trait of being fearless like Rudra, in the face of difficulties and chaos. A leader like the captain of the ship also needs to be bold and quick in decision-making and inspire the people. 
3. Balance & Self Restraint -Indulging in extremities of any kind can be detrimental to a leadership journey. With his life balance and self restraint, Lord Shiva exemplifies how balance brings peace and joy. Every leader needs to balance between business – family, spirituality, health, and enjoyment. Though Lord Shiva is known to be a ‘Maha Yogi’ and prays for the wellbeing of the entire universe, and though he secludes himself from the materialistic world; Shiva, also is an advocate of strong family values with his wife and children.
4. Grand Creator -A leader must be an artist in ideations, creations, innovation and inventions. This creation and destruction is based on the larger need of our society. Thus leader needs to be observant of people and their needs, to be able to create solutions in sync with times. And also destroy or de-clutter what may be obstructing the creative process.
5. Respect For Diversity & Partnership -A leader needs to have equal respect for all. A leader’s biggest reliance is on the team, and only by unbiased treatment one can win the trust and ownership of team members, irrespective of gender. Gender stereotypes are a global phenomenon, however in India where many deities are women… we should lead this space of respect and equality. ‘Ardhanarishvar’, a composite androgynous form of Lord Shiva and his better half Parvati is a testimony of this equality.
6. Third Eye Instinct -Lord Shiva is also known as “Trinetradhari” (tri: three; netradhari: the owner of eyes). The third eye of Lord Shiva exemplifies knowledge, intuition and wisdom. We all can develop the third eye with practice and prayers. In challenging times it’s the third eye that can support us to navigate our journey. This third eye also helps us gain awareness of our ecosystem and ourselves.

Wish you a very Happy Maha Shivratri! Do share with us how you would like to emulate Lord Shiva in your leadership practice.